Archive for the 'Magic Johnson' Tag Under 'Lakers' Category

As if the Lakers don't have enough to worry about, Magic Johnson added to their drama Monday by taking aim at several issues that have been plaguing his former team. Kobe Bryant was foremost in his cross hairs.

Among several messages he posted on Twitter, Magic wrote:

@KobeBryant is having a an MVP type season but the team needs him to be a better leader... @SteveNash scoring more and throwing more assists will help the @Lakers!

Bryant didn't run from the criticism Monday but instead stood and took it.

“Umm, yeah, I'll take the blame for that. I mean, that's fine. My role really is to take the brunt of the blame. That's part of the seat that I sit in," Bryant said. "… I won't say it's hurtful.

At a Dodgers press conference Monday to announce the signing of a pitcher, the talk turned to the Lakers and Magic began taking shots at the team's defense (who hasn't?), management for its handling of Phil Jackson, hiring Mike D'Antoni and the offense the new coach is trying to run.

“I love the Lakers so much and I die with every single game they lose. I'm frustrated because I love them so much," Magic said. "And I don't like where we are. I watch the faces, and it's almost like [the players] don't know what they're doing or how to do it.

“The Lakers better understand this: Every team in the league is liking what's happening to the Lakers. We've always had the upper hand on everybody. Now they're coming and saying ‘wait a minute, we can beat the Lakers now.' We've got to rise up to that challenge and right now we're not.”

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's famed skyhook, already immortalized in the minds of Lakers fans and opponents, has now been captured in bronze for future generations.

The former Lakers great, helped by a few of his closest friends, unveiled 16-foot bronze likeness of the “Cap” on Friday before the Lakers played Phoenix.

"Lou Gehrig spoke about being the luckiest man in the world, and as a young person at that time I didn't know what that meant," Abdul-Jabbar said. "But having lived my life and having had the wonderful experiences that I've had in basketball, I can understand now what a man like Lou Gehrig meant. I get it.

“When you're fortunate enough to be honored in this way, it's a very humbling experience."

Abdul-Jabbar's statue, created by sculptors Julie Rotblatt Amrany and Omri Amrany, depicts the former center with his signature goggles and No. 33 jersey, throwing down on of his famous skyhooks. It will join statues of Jerry West and Magic in Star Plaza.

Mike D'Antoni isn't naive. He knows there is a large faction of Lakers fans who wanted Phil Jackson to take over as head coach and has joked that some friends, who are Lakers fans, wanted Jackson instead of him.

Then there is Magic Johnson. On Wednesday, he said on Twitter that he was “mourning” over Jackson not being hired and later on ESPN TV pointed his finger at Jim Buss, Lakers vice president for his unhappiness.

What did you think Kobe Bryant was going to say when asked who would win if the 2012 U.S. Olympic team played the 1992 Dream Team? As any proud player would do, Bryant sided with his guys.

"Well, just from a basketball standpoint, they obviously have a lot more size than we do — you know, with (David) Robinson and (Patrick) Ewing and (Karl) Malone and those guys," Bryant told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday. "But they were also — some of those wing players — were also a lot older, at kind of the end of their careers. We have just a bunch of young racehorses, guys that are eager to compete.

"So I don't know. It'd be a tough one, but I think we'd pull it out."

And what did you think Charles Barkley would say when he got wind of that Bryant had said? Let's just say that Sir Charles, as usual, didn't hold back.

No, he isn't running for mayor of Los Angeles or working for another political candidate as he did for Hilary Clinton in 2007. This time, the former Lakers great is in the running for the nickname for Country Time's newest lemonade product. Country Time is looking for name to call its blend of lemonade and iced tea and "The Magic" is now in the running.

In a new business world where the Lakers don't have the salary-cap exceptions to throw at free agents or the money overall to spend as they once did, they are looking for more ways to add talent.

They think they did that by buying the 55th overall pick from the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night to draft Marquette guard Darius Johnson-Odom. He could be likened to ex-Laker Derek Fisher in his strong physique, left-handed shot and winning history except Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak described Johnson-Odom as "ridiculously athletic."

Johnson-Odom said he has been compared to James Harden despite Harden's height advantage. Johnson-Odom also has the middle name Earvin, which he said his mom gave him because of Lakers legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

Kupchak said the Lakers viewed Johnson-Odom as someone who should go in the top 30 or 40 of the draft -- about the range where a team would expect a draftee is more likely than not to make the roster. Johnson-Odom conceded he lacks polished point-guard skills and traditional shooting-guard height, but he said: "I always find a way to win."

It seems that not everything was dreamy with the 1992 Dream Team. The U.S. Olympic team, made up of some of the NBA's biggest stars had its share of issues that Sports Illustrated's Jack McCallum has captured in his book "Dream Team."

One story in the book details how Clyde Drexler has not let go of his his bitter feelings toward Magic Johnson, who had learned he was HIV positive a year earlier, retired and came back to play in the 1992 All-Star Game. Magic also got to keep his spot on the Olympic team, which rankled Drexler then and now.

"Magic was always ... 'Come on, Clyde, come on, Clyde, get with me, get with me,' and making all that noise. And, really, he couldn't play much by that time. He couldn't guard his shadow," Drexler told McCallum.

"But you have to have to understand what was going on then. Everybody kept waiting for Magic to die. Every time he'd run up the court everybody would feel sorry for the guy, and he'd get all that benefit of the doubt. Magic came across like, 'All this is my stuff.' Really? Get outta here, dude. He was on the declining end of his career."

Drexler shined in 1992 All-Star Game in Orlando, but the MVP award went to Magic, who had been added by Commissioner David Stern as a special 13th player to the Western Conference roster.

Magic Johnson stirred up the NBA playoffs Friday when he said Mike Brown would be fired if the Lakers lost a winner-take-all Game 7 to Denver in their first-round series.

"They're going to run Mike Brown first out of town," Johnson said as an ESPN NBA analyst. "Then second will be [Andrew] Bynum. Then third will be [Pau] Gasol."

"His job will go," Johnson added, "the Lakers are about championships. That's what the Lakers are about. If they lose this game, Mike Brown, I bet you, will not be sitting there."

His on-air comments caught Lakers management off-guard and the team issued a terse statement Saturday saying this was Johnson's opinion and "not made on behalf of the Los Angeles Lakers" and do not reflect management's position on Brown. Brown has two more guaranteed years on his contract with a fourth-year option, making an average of $4.5 million per season.

About the only person not bothered by Magic's comments was Brown, who was fired from the Cleveland Cavaliers two seasons ago after losing in the second round.

The Lakers backed Brown with a statement -- and so did his opposing coach in this series.

Nuggets coach George Karl said the Lakers had a "solid-to-good year" in Brown's first season coaching them and declared Johnson's statement "out of control." Karl suggested it reflected ESPN's desire to spark controversy or be outlandish.

"Wild and crazy," Karl added about Johnson's comment before Game 7 Saturday night at Staples Center. "It's ESPN-ish. I think he got another year on his contract for that comment."